Despite all of your greatest efforts to protect surfaces in your home from splatters during a paint job, there’s always a chance that your floors, carpet, or furniture could end up spotted by stray drops or spills during the process. Though this can be frustrating and may seem like a terrible inconvenience, don’t fret; removing dried paint from home surfaces is a lot easier than you think. Here’s how to make paint removal easy on your home furnishings, and most importantly, on you:
If you can avoid it, don’t let the paint dry. Removing wet paint from surfaces can typically be done with a towel and warm water, and maybe a little bit of detergent or light cleaner for carpets; but dried stains require much more effort, and can involve the use of dangerous paint thinners. So get to the spot as soon as it happens.
Citrus-based cleaners work best. To avoid heavy, chemical-based paint strippers, just about any household cleaner, like Mr. Green, Pine Sol, or Simple Green can be used for dried paint removal. Hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover can also be used on color safe items. In general, citrus-based cleaners like Goo Gone and Painter’s Pal are the safest and most effective.
Use caution with paint-removal products on fabrics. Before cleaning dried paint off of furniture, make sure to test your paint remover on a small, inconspicuous spot to see if the material will have a negative reaction to the product. Apply a little bit of remover to a strategic spot and wait two minutes — if the fabric hasn’t changed, your remover is safe to use.
Get an edge — or some steel wool. Sometimes the only way to get dried paint off a surface is to scrape it out. Using a razor blade, knife, or even an old credit card can aid in scraping up splatters, and abrasive scrubbers such as steel wool are great for removing paint with less elbow grease required.
Some types of paint are harder to remove than others. Water-based latex and acrylic paints are relatively simple to clean up if you act quickly; but oil-based paints tend to have better adhesive qualities, and can require turpentine or other paint thinners for removal.
If you have prepared well for a paint job, then cleanup should be the least of your worries. However, mistakes are common, and accidents happen. Most house painting contractors, like CertaPro Painters of Maine, are knowledgeable in both what it takes to prep for a paint job and what it takes to clean up in case of spills. Keep your home beautiful and splatter-free by using a professional service. At the very least, if they make a mistake, they’re the ones who’ll have to clean it up.
Need help choosing your new paint color? Contact Northern Virginia Decorating Den today at 703-239-8112.
